Journey to Save the Sun

by Geopocalypse

Chapter 2: Parasites and Train Rides

Twilight Sparkle awoke to the sound of talking. Twilight sat up in her bed and let out a yawn while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She blinked several times before her vision was brought back into focus. It was still dark out and she saw her friends sitting around a table talking to each other. Rarity looked up from their conversation and noticed Twilight looking at them.

"Good morning Twilight, how are you feeling?" asked Rarity.

"I feel fine, thanks Rarity," said Twilight "what time is it? Why are you all here instead of asleep in your own rooms? The Sun isn't even up yet."

"That's just it Twi, accordin' to this clock the Sun should have risen about two hours ago," said Applejack.

"What? Are you sure it's not just something wrong with the clock?" asked Twilight.

"No, the clock is working just fine, I examined it earlier and it is in perfect working order. All the gears are running smoothly, the crystals are aligned, and this clock is synchronized with another clock down the hall," said Fluttershy.

Everyone stared at Fluttershy. She blushed and looked at her hooves. "Uhm my father was a clockmaker," she said.

"Yeah so we know the time is correct thanks to Fluttershy's freaky knowledge of clockmaking," said Rainbow Dash causing Fluttershy to blush harder and hide behind her mane, "so why is the Sun not up yet?"

Twilight pondered what could be causing the sunrise's delay and wondered if it had anything to do with Celestia's illness. The more she thought the more she realized that this was most likely the case. 'No matter how powerful Celestia is she can't do very much in her current state,' Twilight thought.

"I'll bet that Princess Celestia is unable to perform her duties now since she is ill," said Twilight.

"Good gracious! Who will raise the sun if not the Princess?" asked Rarity.

"Don't worry Rarity I'm sure that Princess Luna will be able to raise the Sun for the time being," said Twilight.

"Then why hasn't she done it already?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"That is a good point, perhaps we should go check on her just to make sure that everything is alright," Twilight said as she got up from her bed. As they began to walk to the door Twilight suddenly remembered something. "Oh, wait, where is Spike?"

"He's over there Twilight, still sleeping," said Fluttershy "He's been up almost as long as we have and he's worn out from all of it."

"Well I suppose we can let him sleep and fill him in later," said Twilight "Alright let's go see the Princess."

* * *

Twilight was anxious as she walked to the royal hospital with her friends in tow. She wondered if the doctors had discovered any significant changes. She wondered if there had been any changes at all, but mostly Twilight worried about Celestia. Celestia was like a second mother to Twilight, she had grown up with her and Celestia had always been there for her. Princess Celestia had always seemed so powerful, so regal, so pure that seeing her in the state she was now saddened Twilight very much. Twilight loved Celestia and it hurt her too see her lying on a bed sick and in pain.

They arrived at the hospital room to find several doctors trotting about attending to Celestia and checking various medical devices while Princess Luna talked with one of the doctors.

"Princess Luna!" Twilight shouted.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle it is good to see you and your friends, but what are you all doing here so early?" asked Luna.

"Not to be rude Princess but it's already morning, the Sun just isn't up yet," said Rainbow Dash.

"Oh! I Completely forgot Ive been up all night that I didn't even realize it was day, I'll be right back!" Luna said as she galloped to the window, her horn already glowing with magic.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and focused on the horizon. Twilight's heart began to beat faster partially out of excitement of getting to personally see the sun be raised and part worry over who was doing the raising. The Sun started to peek out from behind the horizon while the Moon gently set behind the mountainside. All was normal until the Sun began rising a lot faster than normal up into the sky, seemingly out of control. Those watching visibly cringed as the Sun began to wobble slightly as if it were being gently rocked back and forth by some unseen current before coming to a smooth stop about halfway up in the sky. Twilight let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Sorry about that everypony, it has been quite some time since I have moved the Sun and Moon on my own," Luna said with a blush.

"Don't worry Princess, it just took us all a little by surprise," said Twilight "So have there been any changes to the Princess' condition?"

"There have been a few changes," Luna said causing a look of hope to blossom in Twilight's eye "but, I believe it would be better if somepony else were to explain it."

Luna raised her hoof at the doctor standing next to her. He was a middle aged unicorn stallion with a messy sand-yellow mane and a light turquoise coat. He was rather short and looked more like he should be studying medicine rather than practicing it. His cutie mark was two DNA strands forming an X shape. "Girls I would like you to meet Dr. Cell Structure. He is the head of the Biochemistry department at Canterlot University and is one of the leading experts in pony physiology."

Dr. Cell Structure trotted forward and reached out a hoof to shake the hooves of the mares assembled before him.
Twilight reached out her hoof and shook the Doctor's hoof.

"Hello doctor, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Twilight Sparkle," said Twilight.

"No no no Twilight Sparkle the pleasure is all mine, I am delighted to meet the Elements of Harmony, after all it's not every day that you get to meet ponies who save the world at a regular basis," said the doctor with a smile. He then proceeded to shake the rest of the mare's hooves before returning to Luna's side.

Twilight cleared her throat and began talking "So Doctor Structure-

"Please just call me Cell," he said.

"Um okay, Cell what exactly have you discovered about the Princesses condition since yesterday?" asked Twilight.

"Well quite a lot actually, we have some good news and some bad news. Which would you prefer to here first?" he asked.

"The good news! The good news!" shouted Pinkie as she bounced up and down.

"The good news is that the metamorphic process that the Princess has been undergoing has slowed down, and we have identified the source of her symptoms," said Cell "All the changes that are happening to the Princess are being caused by a parasite. The parasite very closely resembles a Changeling in structure and biology."

"Doctor how were you able to find the Parasite? All the initial tests for a parasitic organism were negative," said Twilight.

"I am glad you asked Ms. Sparkle," said the doctor "As you are probably aware we can check for parasites by probing a patient with thaumatic radiation, this causes a portion of the body to become transparent allowing us to view the internal organs and other such things. Our initial sweep of the Princess detected nothing out of the ordinary, but after the Princess was exposed to the Elements of Harmony this appeared."

The doctor's horn lit up with a silver glow and a portion of Celestia's head and neck began to glow and become transparent. Using his magic, he then projected the image of Celestia's head onto a large tarp covering the wall. Celestia's skull could be seen, but they could not see anything out of the ordinary from this perspective. Doctor Cell focused more magic into his horn allowing them to view the brain beneath her skull, and that's when they finally saw it.

Clamped onto the back of Celestia's brain was a small black creature. It was no bigger around than a bit, but it had small tentacle like structures snaking out of it's body connecting to the surrounding parts of the brain and down along the brain stem. Small splotches of green ichor could be seen around the area surrounding the creature.

"Goddess, what a monstrous creature," said Rarity.

"How did this thing remain unnoticed during the examinations?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"Yeah, what the hay? How did you miss something like that!" asked Rainbow.

"I have a hypothesis as to how this parasite managed to elude us for so long. I believe since this creature so closely resembles a Changeling that it could possibly have the ability to disguise itself just like a Changeling," the doctor said "So when we scanned for a parasite we simply saw another piece of the brain. This also leads me to believe that when the parasite came into contact with the Elements of Harmony the spell hiding the parasite was removed."

"Sorry to interrupt, I'm sure this is all very fascinating, but now that you can see the critter why don't ya just remove it?" asked Applejack.

"Unfortunately that brings us to our bad news," he said in a solemn voice. "The parasite is not going to be easy to remove, if it's possible to remove it at all."

Dr. Structure's magical aura expanded to cover Celestia's back allowing the assembled ponies to see her spinal cord. Twilight and the others could clearly see the black tentacles of the parasite wrapping around the bone.

"You see, the parasite has begun to grow out along the spinal column and has become entangled all through out the nerves inside the Princess' spine," he said "We cannot teleport it out without killing the Princess, all conventional drugs seem to have no effect on the parasite, and we're afraid that if we attempted to surgically remove the parasite it would send Celestia's system into shock, killing her almost instantly, that is if we could even remove it without damaging her brain or nervous system."

"So, what can you do?" asked Twilight.

"All we can do for right now is monitor her condition and try to keep her stable, fortunately the parasite does not seem to be killing her, it's only altering her," said the doctor with a weak smile.

Twilight hung her head. She felt helpless, even a little useless. Everything that the doctor just told caused the small flicker of hope that had been growing inside her to dwindle down to nothing more than a few embers. Her eyes began to tear up and a single teardrop streaked down her face and hit the floor.

"Do not give into despair just yet Twilight Sparkle," Luna said upon seeing Twilight begin to cry. "There may still be hope to save Celestia's life."

Upon hearing this, the hope inside Twilight was rekindled and began to grow, just a small bit. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the Princess with rapt attention.

"There may be another who could possibly remove this thing growing inside my sister. Though finding her and convincing her to help may prove rather difficult," said Luna.

"Who? Who is it Princess? Who in Equestria could possibly help cure Celestia?" asked Twilight in a voice tinged with slight desperation.

"She does not live within our great nation, according to rumors. She is a detestable, wicked, and cruel pony if you can even call her a pony. You've met her before Twilight Sparkle, I am talking about Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings," she said.

Twilight felt the color drain from her face at the prospect of having to once agin face that... thing those heartless Changelings called a queen. But, if there was a chance in Tartarus that Chrysalis could somehow reverse what was happening to her mentor, Twilight Sparkle would gladly face the Queen a hundred times over if it meant Celestia would be alright.

"Princess, not to question your judgment but, do you think that asking for help from somepony who is responsible for almost conquering Equestria is the safest idea?" asked Rarity skeptically.

"I agree with Rarity m-maybe this isn't such agood idea," said Fluttershy "uhm maybe I could stay here?"

"I don't like the idea of having to face Chrysalis again, but if it helps us save the Princess then i'll do it," said Twilight.

"Twilight's right! C'mon guys, the time for talk is over, we need to take action!" Rainbow said as she took to the air.

Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail between her teeth and pulled her back to the ground. "Calm down Dash, I'm just as anxious to help as you are, but maybe we should find out where to look before we go after the Queen," said Applejack "So Princess, where exactly is Chrysalis?"

"I'm afraid we don't know exactly where she is, but we have heard rumors about her general location," said Luna "We believe she has returned to her hive which is rumored to be located somewhere in the Badlands. However it will not be easy to get there. Not only is the road to the Badlands long and deadly, but you will first have to make it through the Everfree forest."

Suddenly Pinkie Pie began to giggle. She tried to stop the giggling by placing a hoof over her mouth, but she soon gave in and began to laugh in earnest.

"Pinkie what could possibly be funny at a time like this? The Princess is sick and we have to find a dangerous shapeshifting Queen and convince her to help us, this is not a laughing matter!" Twilight said with a huff of annoyance.

"Sorry, Twilight it's not that," Pinkie said in-between giggles "It's just that I think it's hilarious that the author can't come up with anything more original than that. I mean seriously, a journey through the Everfree forest? That's only been done about a million times already," said before dissolving back into her fit of laughter.

Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, Pinkie's forelegs began to cramp up and she fell forward onto her face.

"Ow! Hey that wasn't very nice!" Pinkie yelled up at the ceiling.

"So anyway," said Twilight ignoring Pinkie's nonsense entirely "When and where should we begin searching for the Queen?"

"That depends on a few things," said Luna "You will be supplied with everything you need for the quest ahead including one hundred thousand bits, an enchanted map, and a dragon flame lantern so that you may send and receive letters. If you would like anything specific just write it down and I will have the royal guard gather it for you."

"In the meantime I suggest you all say your goodbyes and get ready to depart. Your train leaves in one hour. Farewell my little ponies, I wish you the best of luck," said Luna as the Elements of Harmony left to prepare for the journey ahead.

* * *

"Let me go with you! I can help, I promise I won't slow you down," said Spike.

"No Spike, I need you to stay here, In Canterlot, with the Princesses," Said Twilight with a sad sigh as she began to gather her things.

"Please Twilight, just let me go with you, I just want to kep you safe," said Spike

"Spike, I know you mean best, but it's just too dangerous, I would never be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to you," said Twilight

"And I would never be able to live with my self if I wasn't there to protect you!" he countered.

"Spike, don't worry about it, nothing is going to happen to me. I'll be fine!" she said.

"I just don't want to lose you," he said with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, Spike come here," she said as she embraced Spike with her forelegs in a deep hug.

"I love you Twilight," he said.

"I love you too Spike," Twilight said as she hugged him even harder trying to comfort the little dragon.

"Just promise me you'll come back, okay Twi?" Spike said with a sniffle.

"I promise Spike, I promise," Twilight said as she felt tears come to her own eyes.

After a few minutes Spike and Twilight stopped hugging and Twilight resumed her packing.

"I sure could use some help from my number one assistant if he's still up to it," Twilight said with a smile.

Spike stood up wiping the tears from his eyes and starting to grin a little too.

"You got it Twi!" Spike said happily as he helped Twilight pack.

As Twilight watched Spike help her pack she sincerely hoped that she could keep her promise.

* * *

An hour later the Elements of Harmony each stood at the train platform waiting anxiously for there train to arrive. As they waited, the mares spent there time discussing the quest they were about to embark upon. The train was late, a fact that annoyed the ever punctual Twilight Sparkle, and they all hoped it would arrive soon.

They had all packed there bags with their belongs they would need for their trip. Rarity was holding onto the group's bits, Applejack was in charge of the map, and the dragon flame lantern hung from Twilight's saddlebag.

Aside from holding onto the group's bits, Rarity had also brought enough clothing for the entire group. Some of the clothes she brought had been enchanted to protect from the elements and conventional attacks.

Applejack had brought a decent amount of food for the journey, but they would have to find more at some point, and she had brought several lengths of rope.

Twilight had brought several books on the Flora and Fauna of Equestria as well as several lengthy tomes on magic.

Fluttershy had brought some medicinal herbs and other types of healing plants in case anypony was injured or became sick.

Rainbow Dash had brought barely anything except for what the Princess had given each pony. She did however, bring her binoculars and a small notebook which she insisted was "nothing".

Pinkie had brought.. some of everything. Honestly it was a mystery how she managed to cram so much stuff into one space.

Everypony had also been given a sleeping bag, a canteen, and several rolls of enchanted parchment, quills, and ink.

The train finally arrived almost a whole ten minutes late. Twilight ignored this fact with a great deal of effort before she and her friends boarded the train. The train began to pull out of the station before chugging along down the tracks. As Twilight watched Canterlot fade from view she hoped that it would not be the last time she saw Equestria. She thought about what probably lay ahead of her and her friends. She hoped that they could find a way to convince Chrysalis to help Celestia. Twilight just hoped that she could do it before it was too late.

Author's Note:

Alright so not much happened this chapter it feels like.
Don't worry because next chapter will hopefully have more stuff going on.
Sorry this chapter took longer, work has been a little hectic this week.
As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you will continue to enjoy the chapters still to come!

Comments

[Skeeter The Lurker]

Not bad so far again, Do keep going.

~Skeeter The Lurker

[Geopocalypse]

2908811 Thank you! More is on the way.

[Death Moon]

In pratica la rregina dei mutaforma è l'unica che possa salvare Celestia? La vedo male

[Edguy0009]

This is interesting.